Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 177 - Three Eyes (4)

Chapter 177 – Three Eyes (4)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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‘What was that just now?’

Yeo Su-rin stared at Mok Gyeong-un’s face in puzzlement.

If her eyes had not deceived her, it had not been for long, but Mok Gyeong-un’s right iris had taken on a silver hue, and a force had come from it that she could not clearly identify as either spell power or demonic power.

But that had lasted only for a moment, and soon vanished.

‘I’m sure there was some change in his eye.’

Once it returned to normal, that strange aura disappeared as well.

What exactly had happened?

-Flap, flap!

A small bird fluttered around Mok Gyeong-un.

It was Qinyuan in a diminished form.

When Mok Gyeong-un told it to hide itself since it was troublesome, it had shrunk to the size of a sparrow and begun circling nearby like that.

As expected of a demon beast, it had drawn in its demonic power so well that unless someone’s spell power was exceptional or their senses extremely sharp, it would be hard even to notice it was a demon-and-monster.

‘I really have no idea.’

Qinyuan definitely seemed to have become Mok Gyeong-un’s shikigami.

But all of this had come from one single thing.

That was,

‘Did he really just eat that eyeball and make this happen?’

It was something Yeo Su-rin found impossible to understand.

The eyeball was a malformed anomaly, a parasitic demon-and-monster that rooted itself into a human body.

Could eating such a demon-and-monster really produce something like this?

[The demonic power, blood, and flesh of demons and monsters are no different from poison to humans. So do not let any of it enter your mouth even by mistake.]

That was what her master had said.

Yet Mok Gyeong-un had done the mad thing of eating it.

And Three Eyes’ shikigami had been transferred to Mok Gyeong-un.

Something had happened that fit none of the common sense she knew.

‘Just how did he do it?’

She badly wanted to ask.

But even if she asked, it did not seem likely Mok Gyeong-un would tell her.

Occult arts too, like sects and schools in the martial world, belonged to different factions and pavilions, each holding its own formulas and not sharing them with other pavilions.

To begin with, asking was itself a taboo act.

‘Ah, I really want to know.’

But Yeo Su-rin was the type who could not rest once curiosity arose until she resolved it.

To Yeo Su-rin, Mok Gyeong-un was a collection of curiosities.

If he had really eaten an anomaly and made its bond his own, she felt she wanted to dissect him and study him.

As Yeo Su-rin stared fixedly at Mok Gyeong-un, an idea occurred to her.

‘Right. Then I can just keep observing him from close by.’

There was a very simple answer.

On top of that, they had discovered there was another Three Eyes besides the Three Eyes that had shared a body with the Square Sun Jo Tae-cheong.

If so, she had not yet completed her master’s order.

She still had a reason to remain here.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes?”

“I don’t think I’m going back after all… Hm?”

Her eyes widened as she tried to speak to Mok Gyeong-un.

That was because Mok Gyeong-un had opened the lid of a box that looked like a coffin beside the desk in the pavilion lord’s office, and there was a person inside.

“What in the world is that? Huh? Wait a second, that person? That’s not a living person.”

“That’s right.”

Mok Gyeong-un shook his head.

Inside was something no one could think of as anything other than a corpse.

That corpse was none other than In Seo-ok, the former lord of Origin Kill Pavilion.

“Ugh… Ughhh…”

At the sight of In Seo-ok groaning, Yeo Su-rin said,

“Don’t tell me that’s a jiangshi? No, it isn’t. Is it a corpse demon?”

“You have a sharp eye, don’t you?”

A strange light entered Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes as he looked at Yeo Su-rin, who had immediately identified In Seo-ok’s state.

This woman might be flighty, but she really was a capable occult practitioner.

The same went for her knowledge of occult arts and her spell power.

“No, but that corpse demon… isn’t that Origin Kill Pavilion’s lord?”

“That’s right. You recognized him?”

“Of course I did. It took me some time to get inside the main hall building, but I’ve been inside Origin Kill Pavilion for three months.”

During that time, she had learned the face of Origin Kill Pavilion Lord In Seo-ok.

But she had never imagined that after disappearing more than half a month earlier, he would have ended up like this.

Yeo Su-rin let out a sigh and said,

“Why did the lord of Origin Kill Pavilion end up like that? Don’t tell me he was taken by Three Eyes.”

At that, Mok Gyeong-un shook his head.

“It wasn’t that.”

“It wasn’t? Then who else could have done something like this? Even if Origin Kill Pavilion left the Sixty-Four Pavilions of the Square and Circle, he was still a Square Sun.”

If one excluded the Six Fang Gods at the summit, then Square Sun was considered the highest rank in occult arts.

And yet an expert of that level had ended up as a corpse demon.

Unless it had been an occult practitioner of Square Sun rank or higher, it should have been impossible to do this.

But then,

“I did it.”

“Ah, so Young Master Mok did it… Pardon?”

Yeo Su-rin jolted and stared at Mok Gyeong-un’s face.

In Seo-ok, the lord of Origin Kill Pavilion, was famous even among the Square Suns of the Sixty-Four Pavilions of the Square and Circle.

And Mok Gyeong-un had turned him into this?

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. Of course I’m serious. Could it possibly be fake?”

With those words, Mok Gyeong-un clicked his tongue and formed a hand seal.

-Clap! Clap!

‘Be. Array.’

Then he struck the center of In Seo-ok’s chest with his palm.

At once something strange happened.

The spell-strike binding that had restrained In Seo-ok loosened, and his throat bulged, then,

“Gweeeek.”

Something like entangled wooden vines burst out in a rush.

Each time they emerged, In Seo-ok’s entire body trembled violently.

Apparently the wooden vines had spread throughout his body and pinned him in place so he could not move.

“Wow… That’s really vicious. Vicious.”

Yeo Su-rin clicked her tongue at the sight.

Mok Gyeong-un let out a short laugh and said,

“This wasn’t my doing. Jo Tae-cheong, that Three Eyes, probably did this.”

“Three Eyes?”

“Yes. In Seo-ok shouldn’t have been here in the first place.”

He had instructed the now-dead Square Moon Jo Ui-gong to take the seat of pavilion lord and deal with the rest on his own.

So for In Seo-ok to still be here meant Three Eyes, Jo Tae-cheong, had likely noticed his existence because of that.

It was fortunate that he had resolved things before they grew any larger.

If not, the situation would have become entangled.

‘And maybe this is fortunate too.’

Mok Gyeong-un had been worrying over one matter anyway.

With occult practitioner Jo Ui-gong dead, he had lost the person who could control Origin Kill Pavilion for him.

But now that there was the living corpse demon, former pavilion lord In Seo-ok, that problem was solved.

So long as he remained, he could likely fill the empty places left by the dead Jo Ui-gong and Jo Tae-cheong.

“Gweeee.”

-Sliiide!

Once all the long wooden vines had been drawn out, In Seo-ok’s body twitched, then he stood up like a man who had come to his senses.

Then he gave Mok Gyeong-un a slight bow.

“Wow. So you really were the one who made him like that. No, seriously, how did you subdue the lord of Origin Kill Pavilion?”

“No idea.”

“Aaaah. No… You’re going to keep answering like that, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

-Gnash, gnash!

Yeo Su-rin bit down on her fingernails and glared at Mok Gyeong-un.

Of all the men she had ever met, he was the hardest to deal with.

She meant that sincerely.

As she chewed her nails, she let out a sigh and said,

“Then you’re not going to tell me why you made him like that either, are you?”

“No. We made a deal, but isn’t our connection finished now?”

“Pardon?”

“You’re going back now, aren’t you?”

“Ah…”

Yeo Su-rin looked at Mok Gyeong-un with a strange expression.

They had not known each other long and their bond had been brief, but since they had risked their lives to face a common enemy together, she had thought they had grown fairly close.

Yet with those words, she realized that Mok Gyeong-un did not trust her at all.

‘This man… is he very wary of strangers?’

Yeo Su-rin clicked her tongue with a slanted expression.

She had even given him a one-use artifact as part of their wager, and now she felt slightly offended.

Fine.

If that’s how it is, then even out of sheer stubbornness I’ll make you start treating me warmly with your own mouth later on.

Yeo Su-rin, having made that resolution inwardly, spoke.

“I’m not going back.”

“Not going back?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because you said there’s another Three Eyes.”

“That…”

Mok Gyeong-un clicked his tongue inwardly as if he had just realized something.

He had wanted to find out because he considered it important information, but because of that, Yeo Su-rin had now gained a reason to remain here as well.

No, perhaps not a reason, but a situation where she could not leave yet?

“Ah… Is that so? But there won’t be any more inside the main hall, so I suppose you’ll have to search hard.”

“Pardon? Aren’t you going to look too?”

“Me?”

“Yes. The way you were talking to Three Eyes earlier, it seemed like you were trying to find the other Three Eyes.”

“No. I was only checking whether there was another one.”

“What? Then you’re not going to look for it?”

“No.”

At those words from Mok Gyeong-un, Yeo Su-rin made a troubled face.

In the first place, she had planned to use the excuse of searching for Three Eyes together to keep observing Mok Gyeong-un.

What was she supposed to do now?

Her thoughts growing complicated, Yeo Su-rin’s mouth turned duck-like as she said,

“No, isn’t that really petty?”

“What do you mean by petty?”

“Even if it’s only because of our connection, can’t you help me a little? Thanks to me, you were able to kill the Three Eyes that was here without too much trouble.”

At those words, Mok Gyeong-un replied without concern,

“Wasn’t that simply because our goals aligned? And if I remember correctly, I was the one who risked my life, while Miss Yeo was prepared to flee at any moment.”

“T-that was just how it sounded. If things had turned bad, I would have helped.”

“Ah. Would you now.”

Stamping her feet, Yeo Su-rin said with an aggrieved face,

“I really would have.”

“Yes, I’m sure you would.”

Mok Gyeong-un placed his hand on the head of the former pavilion lord, In Seo-ok, as if uninterested.

Then he poured death aura, the energy of death, into In Seo-ok’s head.

-Swoooooosh!

A corpse demon was, literally, close to the state of a corpse.

But then,

“Oh?”

Yeo Su-rin’s eyes widened.

She had thought Origin Kill Pavilion Lord In Seo-ok was simply a corpse demon.

Yet before she knew it, In Seo-ok’s state was changing from that of a corpse to something closer to how he had been in life.

Even the color of his skin changed from violet to flesh-toned.

“A-a living corpse demon?”

The living corpse demon.

It was a forbidden secret technique of the Six-Person Spirit Descent Art.

If one fed the heart-blood that could be called one’s own origin to a person who had only just lost their breath, gathered in one place the yin energy of those who had died not long before, and then performed the art, this was born.

Literally, it was a living corpse ghost.

‘A living corpse demon?’

The reason she was shocked was simple.

Creating a living corpse demon was even more difficult than making an ordinary corpse demon or jiangshi.

To create even one living corpse demon, one had to kill nearly thirty people and gather their energy into one place, and on top of that a living corpse demon had too many weaknesses.

If it was not periodically fed with the yin energy of the dead by killing people, its body would rot, so its utility fell drastically.

“Young Master Mok… That’s a forbidden art.”

“Ah. It is.”

Mok Gyeong-un looked at Yeo Su-rin with cold eyes.

Come to think of it, she came from Sea Immortal Pavilion, a proper occult-practitioner group belonging to the Sixty-Four Pavilions of the Square and Circle.

Origin Kill Pavilion, on the other hand, had withdrawn from the Sixty-Four Pavilions of the Square and Circle, joined hands with martial groups, and practiced all manner of forbidden arts.

So Mok Gyeong-un did not attach much meaning to whether something was a forbidden art.

But among occult practitioners, forbidden arts were literally arts that should never be practiced.

‘Would it be better to kill her?’

Mok Gyeong-un had been planning to simply let her go, since she had been useful.

But now he wondered if it might be better to kill her, since she could become a hindrance.

Then Yeo Su-rin said with shining eyes,

“No. How did you do it?”

“Pardon?”

“A living corpse demon needs the yin energy of those who have just died to give it vitality, doesn’t it?”

“…”

“Because of that it was a forbidden art, so did you perhaps find a way to restore its vitality even without that?”

At those words from Yeo Su-rin, Mok Gyeong-un let out a light breath.

It was because she had come up with an excuse on her own.

So Mok Gyeong-un gave a light nod.

At that, Yeo Su-rin approached Mok Gyeong-un with sparkling eyes and said,

“Where in the world are you really from? Don’t tell me you’re perhaps a disciple of the lord of Sonmun Jiyong Pavilion?”

“Sonmun Jiyong Pavilion?”

“Huh? You’re not?”

“No.”

“Then Hawolsu Pavilion…”

“I won’t tell you, so stop asking.”

“Hng… Can’t you at least tell me that much?”

“No. And I have a lot to do here. So let’s part ways here now. Otherwise, I might have to…”

He omitted the words, kill you.

He hoped she would understand well enough.

But Yeo Su-rin brought her hands together and said with a pleading expression,

“Young Master Mok. I really, really will have a hard time finding Three Eyes by myself, so won’t you help me?”

It seemed she still had not understood what he meant.

Should he just kill her?

There was no more need for her anyway.

Mok Gyeong-un smiled faintly and said,

“I am already busy enough with my own affairs.”

“Then I’ll help you too, Young Master Mok.”

At that, Mok Gyeong-un raised one brow and asked back,

“You’ll help me?”

“Yes. Judging by the fact that you haven’t been here for the past three months, it doesn’t seem like you’re here as an occult practitioner. Isn’t that right?”

“…”

“And since you’ve also learned martial arts, aren’t you here as a martial artist?”

As expected, even though this woman was flighty, she was not stupid.

“That’s right, isn’t it? Then don’t you need someone to manage this living corpse demon?”

“…”

At her words, Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes narrowed.

Someone to manage the living corpse demon…

Certainly, even if it had its own will and was closer to the state of a living person, a corpse demon was still a corpse demon.

Someone did have to manage it along the way to make sure nothing went wrong.

Convinced that Mok Gyeong-un was considering it, Yeo Su-rin smiled brightly and said,

“If you help me find Three Eyes, then I’ll actively help you with this and with anything else you need. Doesn’t that make for a fair deal?”

“Hmm.”

“Come on. Stop pretending to think about it.”

“It does not sound like a bad condition.”

“Right?”

“But I don’t trust people very easily.”

“No, I keep my promises well!”

“There is always the possibility of exceptions.”

“Ugh. You’re really too much. I gave you that emergency artifact without a single complaint. Even if it can only be used once, it’s worth a thousand gold.”

At those words from Yeo Su-rin, Mok Gyeong-un let out a short laugh.

He had watched enough to know that this woman had no ill intent.

But Mok Gyeong-un did not trust people completely.

That was why he thought he needed a suitable device.

“Do you truly wish to make a deal?”

“I already told you. If you help me find Three Eyes, I’ll help you with your affairs too. Isn’t that fairly even?”

“Well, it is.”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s somewhat positive answer, Yeo Su-rin’s expression brightened.

“Then are you accepting?”

“I might, if you agree to one condition.”

“A condition?”

“Yes. As I said earlier, I don’t trust people very easily. So…”

-Slide!

Mok Gyeong-un held out his hand.

At once, something flew into his hand from the severed corpse fixed in front of the desk in the pavilion lord’s office.

-Whoosh! Tap!

“Huh? How did you do that just now?”

“No idea.”

“Ugh.”

Not once did he ever explain anything properly.

As she bit down on her lip and glared at him, Yeo Su-rin soon recognized what he held in his hand.

“Wait a second… Isn’t that the Chain of Commanding Words?”

“You recognized it.”

At that, Yeo Su-rin’s expression stiffened in a way completely different from before as she said,

“Don’t tell me you’re not about to ask me to wear that.”

At her question, Mok Gyeong-un smiled and replied,

“I was about to ask you to wear it.”

“No. That’s used to make someone submit!”

“I’m not trying to force unconditional obedience. Think of it as a kind of safety measure. Once we both finish what we need to do, I’ll remove it.”

“No way! Absolutely not!”

Yeo Su-rin shouted with an angry face.

No matter what, this was too much.

The Chain of Commanding Words was a dangerous artifact that could drive her straight to death if the one who held the binding simply chose to do so.

And he intended to place that on her?

-Whirl, whirl!

Mok Gyeong-un spun the Chain of Commanding Words around and said,

“Then I suppose there are only two options.”

“Two? One would be for us not to make any deal and part ways.”

“Yes. You understand well.”

“Then what’s the other one?”

“It’s a method that worked fairly well, so it might not be bad for you either.”

“Then what is it?”

“You becoming my woman.”

‘!?’

At once Yeo Su-rin’s expression froze.

For a moment, she doubted her own ears.